Thematic Panel 1 - Education

The session will provide information on access to education with a focus on children most at risk for harmful child labour, highlighing the importance of education for achieving SDG 8.7 and related SDG goals that protect the rights of children, adolescents and women. The panelists will share examples of effective and high-impact interventions and policy responses. The panel will be organized by UNICEF and ILO and discuss investments in early childhood development, care and pre-primary education; good practices on the reduction of direct and indirect costs for schooling and eliminating barriers for access to school, particularly for girls, children in rural areas, migrant children, indigenous children and other excluded groups. It will look into the role of legislation, educational curricula, teachers and innovative ways of informal learning,amongst others. Moreover, the session will look into data sharing in the realm of education and shed light on recent trends on access to education and obstacles to enrollment in schools which is fueling child labour. Importantly, the panel will share examples of effective and high-impact interventions based in schools that help children to succeed in school and protect students from exploitation and harm.

More than one third of children in child labour are completely outside the education system, and those that do attend perform poorly. Schooling is a key factor in eliminating child labour.